The monster movie genre is alive and well.

Rating: 8/10 (24 July 2013)

This is a good movie. The question is: why? The movie is loaded up with special effects, has a lot of cheesy acting, tells a ridiculous story, and in some ways is a rip off of monster movies from the past. Based on that, this movie should qualify as a bomb. Yet it is not a bomb; this movie is good because it is unpretentious. It is what it is and is so without apology. Indeed, this movie glorifies the monster movie genre; it takes it to a higher, more sublime, level. Here the director lets out all the stops and lets the debris settle where it may. The movie conveys a positive message. It is about teamwork and about how humans are able to unite to solve problems. The monsters themselves are not especially surprising. Similar types can be found in many other monster movies. But what is different is how they are treated by the humans and how the humans respond to them. Unlike other monster movies which show humans in mass panic mode, this movie portrays humans as being stalwart and in control. You know they will beat the monsters; it's just a question of how. The monsters are another problem to be solved and the humans do a great job of solving it. This movie is worth watching.